The golden sunlight streamed down, making the peach-colored cloak shine exceptionally bright, further highlighting the woman's beautiful face. Even her elder brother, Wei Chengxu, found her dazzlingly radiant, a picture of divine beauty.
It's not unusual for men to be attracted to beautiful women, but Wei Chengxu wasn't sure what Du Xun's eager expression meant. If it was just that he was amazed by Wei Shuwan's appearance upon first meeting her, it seemed a bit of an exaggeration.
He then tentatively asked in a low voice, "Brother Du, do you perhaps know my sister?"
He then added, "I was referring to my third sister, Shuwan."
Du Xun nodded sincerely: "I guess I recognize you."
"You could say that?" Wei Chengxu raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"I've only met Miss Wei once..." Du Xun said, then lowered his eyes slightly, a little unsure of himself, but quickly looked up to correct himself, "But if you count what just happened, then we've met twice!"
"Then..." Wei Chengxu wanted to ask Du Xun whether he was in love with Shuwan or Shuyao, but after hesitating for a moment, he asked more tactfully: "Brother Du, did you know my third sister first, or my fourth sister first?"
"Naturally, it's the Third Sister."
"Then what happened when you met Shuyao..." Wei Chengxu's mind was a mess. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but because he wasn't very familiar with Du Xun, he couldn't be too direct. While he was stammering, Du Xun had already given him the answer:
“When I met Miss Shuyao at the Sheng residence, I immediately recognized her as Miss Shuwan’s younger sister. Now that I know Miss Shuwan’s family is in trouble, how could I stand idly by?”
Wei Chengxu let out a long sigh, a chill running down his spine. It turned out that Du Xun's concern for his younger sister was merely out of consideration for Shuwan's family; he harbored no romantic feelings whatsoever. Perhaps he was even hoping to leave a good impression so that Shuyao could speak well of him to Shuwan later!
"But why did Young Master Du give Shuyao a token of love?!" Wei Chengxu was somewhat annoyed at the mention of this matter, and his voice rose a few notches: "With your actions, it's no wonder Shuyao misunderstood!"
"A token of love?" Du Xun was taken aback for a moment, then realized who it was: "Brother Wei, are you talking about that white jade hairpin?"
Wei Chengxu snorted coldly, which was both an answer and a sign of disdain.
Du Xun gave a wry smile, then explained, "That hairpin actually belongs to Miss Shuwan."
"When I was boating on the lake that day, my boat suddenly started to leak, so I asked a nearby painted boat for help. When I got on, I learned that it was the third young lady of the Wei family, and I was very grateful. But perhaps because I had spoiled her fun, the young lady had no desire to continue boating on the lake, so she asked the boatman to dock and get off the boat. After the young lady left, I found the jade hairpin that she had dropped, but it was too late to catch up with her."
"Afterwards, I always wanted to find an opportunity to return the hairpin to its rightful owner, but I never encountered the right moment. It wasn't until I met Miss Shuwan's younger sister that I finally gave her the hairpin. But for some reason, after she took it, she didn't give me a chance to explain what had happened before she ran away in a flash..."
After hearing this, Wei Chengxu understood. He didn't need to ask Wei Shuyao; he had already guessed that Wei Shuyao must have assumed the hairpin was for him, which is why she took it and ran away shyly.
"But, even if you want to return the hairpin, why didn't you have the servants in your household deliver it to your door immediately?!" Wei Chengxu pointed at Du Xun, his fingertips trembling with anger.
His sister was delusional, and as a result, he, the older brother, was also disappointed. Now he was embarrassed and angry, with nowhere to vent his anger, so he could only nitpick these trivial matters and say a few words to Du Xun.
This question truly stumped Du Xun; he couldn't answer it.
He admitted that he had ulterior motives. If he sent a servant to return it, he would have no reason to approach Wei Shuwan when they met again. He originally intended to keep the item to return it in person, but Wei Shuyao discovered it first that day, so he had no choice but to go with the flow.
But how could these secret plans be spoken aloud?
Seeing that Du Xun was speechless when questioned, Wei Chengxu finally calmed down and angrily turned and left.
Meng Shi and Wei Shuyao were still eagerly awaiting the result of Wei Chengxu's probing, but when they saw him return looking ashamed and dejected, they couldn't help but panic.
"What, does Young Master Du not yet intend to tell his parents his feelings?" Madam Meng stood up abruptly, something she had been worried about ever since she found out.
If the other party is just a playboy who flirts with everyone and has no intention of seriously discussing marriage, then all her hopes will be dashed.
Wei Shuyao also stood up nervously, frowning as she asked, "Brother, what did Young Master Du say to you? Did he not mean it that way?"
“They do have that intention,” Wei Chengxu said, looking up defiantly, “but not to you, but to Wei Shuwan.”
As soon as the words were spoken, both Meng Shi and Wei Shuyao were stunned.
After Wei Chengxu finished recounting what had happened, Madam Meng was filled with grief and indignation. She was angry at Du Xun for being blind and angry at her own daughter for being as stupid as a pig. She felt it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe, and she clutched her chest as if she might pass out at any moment!
Wei Shuyao knew she had made a huge fool of herself. She was too ashamed to face her mother and brother, and even more ashamed to continue composing poems with Du Xun and the others. She ran back to her small courtyard crying.
Du Xun realized that he had made a mistake due to his carelessness and felt ashamed. He dared not stay any longer and made an excuse to leave first.
With the leader gone, the other members of the poetry society, finding it boring to stay, also took their leave.
After everyone had left, Wei Shuyao, who had been crying for an hour, finally realized that crying was useless and that she had to seek justice for herself!
...
Wei Shuwan went to the Sheng residence and told Sheng Yun that her benefactor had been wounded by an arrow and she wanted to ask the family physician to help identify the type of poison and prescribe an antidote.
After examining the arrowhead, the physician discovered that the poison was not lethal; it only rendered the victim weak, with effects similar to a muscle relaxant. Upon further inquiry, he learned that the injured man was initially able to walk and jump, but later suddenly developed a high fever. The physician concluded that he had used his internal energy to expel most of the poison, thus delaying the onset of the poison. Now, with just a few more doses of medicine and rest, he would recover.
Wei Shuwan thanked them repeatedly and instructed them to keep the secret before taking the medicine and returning home.
Miaoxiang had just finished decocting the medicine and brought it into the room. She glanced at the young prince lying motionless on her young mistress's bed and asked with some difficulty, "Miss, the young prince is not awake. How should we feed him the medicine?"
Wei Shuwan took the medicine bowl, scooped it up with a spoon, and slowly blew on it to cool it down before trying to feed it to him. As a result, half a spoonful spilled after the first spoonful was fed, and the second spoonful spilled out as well.
Wei Shuwan wasn't in a hurry. She calmly instructed, "Go to the kitchen and bring the bellows."
Zi Qiao and Miao Xiang were both taken aback, but quickly did so. After they got the item back, they saw Wei Shuwan holding the blowpipe and gesturing in front of Li Qingchen's face.
"Miss, why don't you wash first..."
Before Miaoxiang could finish speaking, Wei Shuwan had already inserted one end of the blowpipe into Li Qingchen's mouth, the end that had been blackened by the firewood all the time.
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